A crew of would-be carjackers managed to pistol-whip their victim and take his keys Sunday night in Bethesda, Maryland but ran into a little problem when they tried to drive off in the vehicle.

Apparently, they couldn't drive stick and gave up on their caper, WTTG-TV reported.

Officers were called to the 7200 block of Wisconsin Avenue around 11:55 p.m. after a report of an attempted carjacking, the station said.

Authorities said the victim was in front of a business when three or four individuals approached him and demanded at gunpoint the keys to his vehicle, WTTG said.

Investigators said the suspects pistol-whipped the man, who ran back into the business, the station said, adding that the victim told police shots were fired, but investigators said no shell casings were found.

However, WTTG said the carjacking encountered a major roadblock when the suspects tried to drive away: they couldn't operate the SUV because it came equipped with a manual transmission.

With that, the suspects fled the scene in a different vehicle, the station said, adding that the victim is recovering from his injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators, WTTG said.

Man pistol-whipped by would-be carjackers foiled by SUV with stick shift in Bethesda, police sayyoutu.be

Sunday's incident was far from the first time crooks tried and failed to carjack vehicles because they didn't know how to drive stick. Just a few for-instances:

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